South Ockendon Hall

Image from English Heritage

Little now remains of South Ockendon Hall except the bridge over the moat leading to the remains of the gate house. The surviving fabric of the gatehouse is Reigate rubble with ashlar but the arch and wall above were rebuilt in brick in the 17th or early 18th century. However, the moat that surrounded the house is well preserved.

South Ockendon was a Domesday Manor. The earliest reference records a grant to support a chaplain at the free chapel at the Hall between 1190 and 1225. Building accounts of 1318/19 mention a hall, kitchen, well and privy. Wills from the 16th century mention `the great dining chamber, middle chamber' and `gallery chamber'. One fragment of glazed floor tile was found in the moat. Moulded and rubbed bricks found in the core of the wall may be from decorative chimneys. It was probably rebuilt at least once. A survey of 1691 shows a large, probably 17th century house.

The archaeological and documentary evidence suggest the Hall was a prestigious manor house owned by a wealthy family. The manor was owned by Elizabeth Ingelram who married William Brandon. He died fighting for Henry VII at Bosworth and was knighted posthumously. In the 19th century, the hall was owned by the Sturgeon family.